Walker County History

149 Locations | Curated by Jeffrey L. Littlejohn

Walker County is a scenic, sprawling territory of 801 square miles located in the southeastern region of Texas. Situated along the edge of the Coastal Plain, the county lies roughly 100 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico and midway between the Louisiana state line and the Texas capital at Austin. The local landscape is beautiful and rustic, with rolling hills, piney woods, and sprawling rivers. This tour highlights all the entries on East Texas History that deal with historic sites from Walker County. Additional thematic tours are also available on specific topics.

In the 1830s, Huntsville, Texas, grew into a frontier town, attracting many new settlers who created frequent disputes over land and authority. Early residents of what would become Walker County often struggled to resolve personal disputes and to manage a new legal system. (Walker County, 2021)…
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Near the banks of Town Creek in present-day Huntsville once stood one of Walker County’s earliest “cotton engines,” more commonly known as “cotton gins.” This small but important building helped shape the region’s agricultural development during the early to mid-1800s. Between 1820 and 1860, cotton…
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A veteran of three wars and a career public servant, James Gillaspie played a leading role in the development of early Huntsville. Born on January 5, 1805, in Virginia to William and Elizabeth Gillaspie, young James moved with his parents to Tennessee in 1810. When the Texas Revolution broke out in…
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Except for a one-year stint working in a New Orleans hotel, Andy McAdams spent his entire life farming the land in and around Walker County, Texas, both as an enslaved person and a freed person. In the latter half of the 1930s, the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP) interviewed many formerly enslaved…
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The Trinity River, spanning about 710 miles, is a vital Texas waterway that begins near the Red River in North Texas and continues southeast, emptying into Galveston Bay. The river is broken into four primary forks: the Clear Fork, the Elm Fork, the West Fork, and the East Fork. The West Fork…
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For centuries, the Bidai tribe inhabited the piney woods and river bottoms of East Texas. Unlike larger tribes that frequently appear in history books, the Bidai are rarely mentioned, making their story especially interesting. Their disappearance was not caused by one single event, but rather by a…
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On November 14, 1835, early Texas settler Pleasant Gray bought a 4,428-acre “league of land” in Tejas y Coahuila province from the Mexican government. This lot became the original site of Huntsville in Walker County. While Texas land frequently changed hands in the early nineteenth century, the…
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Amid a yellow fever epidemic that threatened the health and stability of Huntsville, Texas, Martha Ann Otey traveled west from Mississippi with a purpose in mind. She arrived at Andrew Female College ready to take on her new role. She immersed herself in an unfamiliar town where education and…
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Long before the Civil War, slavery influenced Texas's social, economic, and cultural viewpoints, and Walker County proved no exception. Plantation ledgers and census data show the extent of slavery in the area, but they do not depict the human misery that was a part of the institution. Some of…
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Henry Probasco was born on “Massa” Andrew McGowen’s Plantation around 1858. This plantation was located in Walker County, near Huntsville, Texas. Henry represented one of 50 enslaved people who lived with Mr. McGowen. All of Probasco’s parents, family, and grandparents lived on the plantation…
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In the mid-1800s, the small frontier town of Huntsville, Texas, became the starting point for the creation of Austin College. Chartered in 1849 by the Brazos Presbytery of the Old School Presbyterian Church, Austin College represented part of a larger movement to build up educational institutions…
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One of Walker County’s most notable African American citizens, Jeff Hamilton, was born into slavery on April 16, 1840, on Singleton Gibson’s Plantation in Shelby County, Kentucky. When Gibson died, his widow, Mary “Polly” Gibson, remarried James McKell. In 1843, the McKells moved to Texas with…
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At the height of the Great Depression in the 1930s, interviewers working for the Federal Writers' Project interviewed over 2,000 formerly enslaved people. Emma Simpson represented one such former enslaved person who provided decades of information about life in Walker County in the nineteenth…
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American-style chattel slavery in Texas arrived with the first Empresario settlers in 1824 and legally continued until June 19, 1865. During this time frame, over 180,000 individuals were enslaved on different types of plantations, in private homes, and in trade shops across the regions. Henry…
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Stories about early Texas often focus on frontier towns and settlers. Still, Walker County’s history from the mid-1600s to the 1860s remains deeply connected to the lives of enslaved men, women, and children. Their forced migration laid the foundation for the region. Walker County became a critical…
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Almost forgotten by history, Tuscaloosa once served as a port on the Trinity River in Walker County. For centuries, the Trinity River served as a mode of transporting goods and people across East Texas. In fact, at 423 miles, the Trinity is the longest river located entirely within Texas. It rises…
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Just southeast of Huntsville, in Walker County, lies the town of Old Waverly. Though small, this community carries a history that dates back before the Civil War. The streets of Old Waverly contain markers of its history that demonstrate the growth, changes, and migrations the town has hosted and…
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Harriett Barrett was born in Walker County, Texas, in 1851, into slavery, just over a decade before the outbreak of the Civil War. Her story provides a valuable perspective on the lived experiences of slavery in East Texas, particularly in relation to family, labor, violence, and memory. These…
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Visitors to Huntsville frequently notice the name Eastham in several places around the city. These include the Eastham Prison Farm Unit (renamed the Wainwright Unit in 2021), the Eastham-Thomason House, one of the oldest homes in Huntsville, and Eastham-Thomason Park. Even Cafe Texan, a famous…
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When most people think about Walker County today, they might think of quiet East Texas towns or the legacy of Sam Houston, but back in the 1830s and 1840s, this area was anything but quiet. Huntsville was known for its political power, Native diplomacy, and trade. The Alabama-Coushatta had been…
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When most people think of Walker County today, they envision quiet East Texas towns or the legacy of Sam Houston. However, back in the 1830s and 1840s, this area was anything but quiet. Huntsville was known for its political power, Native diplomacy, and trade. The Alabama-Coushatta had been…
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The earliest known inhabitants of this area were the Cenis and Bidai (Bedias) Indians. Spanish explorers began to arrive in 1542, followed by the French in 1687. The area was thinly populated by Spanish and Mexican settlers until the early 1830s when colonists came from the United States. Brothers…
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The Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville opened in 1849, one year after the state legislature created the penitentiary system. As the first state prison in Texas, the Huntsville site soon became known as the "Walls Unit" for the 15-foot brick wall that surrounds the prison yard. The…
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Austin Hall, the original building of Austin College, erected in 1851 and used continuously for educational purposes by Austin College to 1876, by a private academy from 1876 to 1879, and by Sam Houston State University from 1879. The Presbyterian Church established Austin College in Huntsville…
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Huntsville State Park is a scenic 2000-acre recreational area that adjoins Sam Houston National Forest. The park offers a venue for camping, hiking, biking, and fishing around Lake Raven. Before European colonization, the park region was inhabited by the Bidai Indians. After disease and Anglo…
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Located in Huntsville, Texas, the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and attached grounds are spread across eighteen acres of the original two hundred-plus acres once owned by Sam Houston and family from 1847 to 1858. Preservation of this historic site started in the first decade of the twentieth century,…
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The Goree Unit is named after Edwin King Goree (1843-1914) who served as a bookkeeper in the office of the Texas Prison System’s Superintendent J.A. Herring. Originally called Camp Goree, the unit was established on 1,000 acres of land as a convict colony for fifty-five ill-behaved inmates from the…
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Following the Texas Revolution in 1836, the Constitution of the new Republic of Texas guaranteed every person the right “to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.” As a result of this broad declaration of religious liberty, itinerant preachers with various religious…
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Marian “Mamie” Rather Powell (May 2, 1881- August 25, 1974) was an active supporter of suffrage and education in Huntsville. Born to Rawley Samuel Rather and Mary Caroline Henry Rather, children of some of the earliest settlers in Huntsville, “Mamie” was raised by parents who valued education.…
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St. Stephen's Church, located at 5019 Sam Houston Avenue, is the sixth oldest church in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. In 1854, the Rev. Charles Gillette reported that St. Stephen's had ten communicants. The church's early congregations met in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church…
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The First Christian Church, located at 19th Street and Avenue R, has provided excellent service to the Walker County community for over 150 years. Writing in 1934, Mrs. W.A. Leigh recalled that early services of the First Christian Church were held at the county courthouse and in private…
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Hillary Mercer Crabb (1804-1876) served as one of the first judges in Walker County. He was born in Columbia County, Georgia. At 18, he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Georgia militia, and in 1830 he moved his family to Mexico, where they settled in the Sabine District. Crabb later…
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The son of Jesse and Fannie Baker, Wendell Harold Baker (1922-2013) played a crucial role in the civil rights movement in Walker County. His parents provided him with a first rate public education, and he graduated with honors from Samuel Walker Houston High School in 1939. Frustrated that he could…
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Felder Jones Sr. (1913-1995) was an important local business leader in Huntsville, Texas. After the death of his mother and father, he lived with his aunt, Emily Williams Hill, in the nearby Galilee community. Jones attended and completed his elementary education at Samuel Walker Houston Industrial…
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The Wynne Unit was the first prison farm established by the state of Texas in 1883. It was named after John Magruder Wynne who worked for the Texas prison system and served on its Board of Trustees from 1878 to 1881. Today, the farm spans approximately 1,415 acres and houses roughly 2,600…
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Located on twenty-two acres behind Sam Houston State University, Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery serves as the final resting place for inmates who die in prison without funeral or family arrangements. The cemetery probably began in the 1850s, when the prison system performed burials on the land before…
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Born on October 14, 1894 to Scott and Caroline Johnson, Scott Edwin Johnson served as a teacher, principal, and city councilman in Huntsville, Texas. Today, the Scott E. Johnson Elementary School in Huntsville Independent School District honors his years of devoted service to the local…
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Leonard Anderson Abercrombie (1832 – 1891) was a Texas secessionist delegate, Confederate Army officer, and Texas state legislator. Born on December 1, 1832, in Macon County, Alabama, he received his college education in Alexandria, Virginia. Later, Abercrombie returned to Alabama, married Lavinia…
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A casual observer today might never know that a now-empty field near the Huntsville ("Walls") Unit once hosted "The Wildest Show Behind Bars"--the Texas Prison Rodeo. The rodeo was launched in 1931 during the Great Depression, and was originally held in a baseball field. Lee…
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In 1983, construction completed on a new 14,000 square foot chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS)--it cost over $1,000,000 to build and boasted a membership of over 300. It stands in stark contrast to the early days of the Mormon faith in Huntsville which began on October…
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In 1855, Dr. Rufus W. Bailey, a Dartmouth educated minister and attorney, moved to Huntsville, Texas, to serve as a language professor at Austin College. After acquiring an eight acre tract of land in Huntsville, he commissioned a large home to be built in 1858. According to popular legend, Bailey…
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Rufus William Bailey, a minister and educator from New England, played a critical role in preserving the first college established in Huntsville and also was responsible for building the house where Sam Houston died. Bailey was born in North Yarmouth, Maine, on April 13, 1793, and attended…
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In 1847, Sam Houston bought a 200-acre property on the outskirts of Huntsville, Texas, to be the site of his family’s home. Houston designed a house that would resemble that of his boyhood in Virginia. While away to serve as one of Texas’s first Senators, Houston kept regular correspondence with…
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Following his military service in the War of 1812 and a stint as a sub-Indian agent to the Cherokees, Sam Houston moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in March 1818 to read law under the direction of Judge James Trimble. It took Houston just six months to complete his course of study, and he subsequently…
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Margaret Moffette Lea was born on April 11, 1819, on her family’s farm near Marion, Alabama, to Temple and Nancy Lea. At fifteen, her father passed away. After that her family moved into town taking up residence in the home of Henry Lea, Margaret’s older brother and a prominent state legislator and…
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One of the most important centers at the Houston home was the kitchen. A simple, single, large wooden room with a stone fireplace in the back, the kitchen served as the location for preparing food, washing clothes, soap making, animal butchering, candle making, and storage. It was separated from…
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On any given day, one may have to stop for the rare chicken who has wandered its way onto the road from the Sam Houston Memorial Museum. The grounds that the chickens call home rest on fifteen acres of the original 200 acre farm owned by General Sam Houston and his family between 1847 and 1858.…
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Combat operations during World War II occurred far away from the United States, mostly on distant Pacific isles or in European villages. However, a piece of World War II history did happen right here in East Texas. The United States held nearly half a million Axis prisoners of war (POWs) in 650…
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A landmark on the "Old Colony Road" between Huntsville and Ryan's Ferry on the Trinity River. Named for Thomas Akin (1828-78), a native of Mississippi, who came to Texas in 1853 with his wife, Ruth Leakey Akin, whom he met and married in Bienville Parish, Louisiana., along the way. …
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Founded in the 1870s on land owned by Lacy Harrington, this cemetery takes its name from the geologic features of the area. The earliest documented burial is that of Civil War veteran Barney Carroll (1835-1880), although local oral tradition suggests the existence of older, unmarked graves. For…
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Thomas Henry Ball was born in Northumberland County, Virginia, in 1819, the son of The Rev. David Thomas and Hannah Henry (Gaskins) Ball. Following in his father's footsteps, Ball became a Methodist minister. While serving his first congregation in Prince Georges County, Maryland, he married…
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Born in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, on August 13, 1802, John Slater Besser was a first generation American. His father, Jacob Besser, was a native of Heidelberg, German, and his mother Susannah (Tinsley) Besser hailed from London, England. In 1804, the family moved to Philadelphia, where…
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Bernadine Oliphint was born in Huntsville, Texas, in 1933 to Tom and Catherine Bolden Oliphint. She was one of eleven children and was raised in the Smith Hill community. Both of her parents were educated and taught school prior to the birth of their children. Her mother retired to care for their…
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Founded in 1846 by Joseph Werner, a German immigrant., the town of Newport was located several miles east of Riverside in Walker County. The settlement served as a Trinity River port and had its heyday in the late 1850s. Several homes, businesses, and a post office operated at the site, but the…
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Robinson's settlement became a stronghold for Methodist activity in Southeast Texas in the early 1830s. By 1839 a campground, church, and school were established here on land given by William and Elizabeth Robinson to the Reverend Littleton Fowler, Superintendent of Methodism in the Republic…
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Mark Manning served in the American Revolution from the Halifax District of North Carolina, his native state. He later lived in South Carolina and in Conecuh County, Alabama, and came to Texas at the age of 97 to live with his sons, who had large land grants and helped to settle Walker County. Some…
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Anna Hardwicke Pennybacker (1861-1938) was an accomplished suffragette, educator, author, and advocate for progressive causes. Born in Petersburg, Virginia, she attended Sam Houston Normal Institute and graduated in 1880 as part of its first class. She married classmate Percy V. Pennybacker in…
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Born in Virginia, Elijah Collard later settled on the frontier in Kentucky and in Missouri, where he fought in the War of 1812. Collard migrated to Texas in 1833. He was elected to the Consultation at San Felipe in 1835 and served on the General Council. In 1837, when Montgomery County was created,…
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John McAdams (1815-1892), a veteran of the Texas Revolution, came to what is now Walker County with his wife, Hester (White), about 1840. McAdams became a rancher, planter, and land speculator and later owned and operated a family cotton gin and sawmill. The community that grew up around his…
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Robert and Jane Jardine Browne built east cabin of hewn pine logs on walnut posts, 1849. Site was part of James Jardine (or Jordan) League--1835 land grant surveyed 1838 by Republic of Texas for Jane's uncle. The west cabin of sawed pine logs was added for growing family. James F. Browne, a…
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Built in 1880 as lodge hall. First floor soon became a dry goods and grocery store, and second was made into a fine theater by owner, John Henry (1828-97). Here traveling troupes played Shakespeare and dramas of the times. Famous magician Hermann the Great made Texas debut here; and Blind Tom,…
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Edward ("Mr. Ed") Boettcher moved to Huntsville in 1928 to begin new logging operations in the nearby pine forests. His Boettcher Mill supplied the lumber for the fine interior woodwork in this house, which was built in 1933-34 for Boettcher and his family. A notable example of its style,…
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Born in Buckingham County, Virginia.; came to Texas, 1847. Settled in Huntsville; entered law practice with Henderson Yoakum. Married Amanda Smith, 1849. Served in the 8th State Legislature, 1859-61; the Confederate army, 1862; and the Congress of Confederacy, 1863-65. U.S. Congress refused to seat…
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A tributary of the Trinity River, Bethea Creek (pronounced Buh-thay) is named for John and Elizabeth Bethea, pioneer settlers of the area. John settled in present-day Walker County in the 1830s and was an early gristmill operator and postmaster in the nearby riverport settlement of Newport, now a…
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The town of Dodge was established in 1872, when the Houston and Great Northern Railroad built a line through this area. W. J. Johnson gave land for the railroad right-of-way with the stipulation that a station be built at the new settlement. The town was platted along the tracks, with streets named…
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On Nov. 26, 1881, nine residents of the rural Boswell community met in a log schoolhouse (.25 mi. S) to organize this Baptist church. The Reverend T. E. King served as the first pastor and services were held in the schoolhouse until 1883. That year a frame chapel was built here on land donated by…
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Established by Samuel Calhoun (1788-1871), native of Abbeville, South Carolina; Captain of Cavalry, State of Georgia, during War of 1812. He came to Texas 1845. Bought land in Gordiana Badillo and Jose Ortega grants, in this area. Lived near Calhoun Ferry. Children by his first wife Elizabeth…
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The Peabody Memorial Library is the first separate college library building in Texas. Located east of Austin Hall and the Old Main Memorial in central campus, it is the university's oldest building constructed after its founding in 1879. The first library on the Sam Houston Normal campus was…
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The town of Riverside was founded in 1872, when Houston & Great Northern Railroad (later, International & Great Northern) was being built into the area. Walker County landowners gave earth, timber, and rock to the road in order to gain shipping facilities. A post office was moved here on…
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This cemetery marks the site of Thomas Plantation and Steamboat Landing. John R. Thomas, a native of Alabama, settled here in 1854. A Confederate soldier during the Civil War, he was captured at the Battle of Arkansas in 1863 and transferred to Camp Chase, Ohio. He died there one month later. …
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John Richard Thomas (1820-63) of Alabama came to Texas in 1854. Developing a 1060-acre plantation, he built wharves here on the Trinity for shipping his cotton, corn, molasses, and other goods. Thomas' Landing was a regular port of call, giving riverboats considerable business. The Civil…
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This cemetery is situated on the land originally purchased in 1853 by Mary M. Lewis, James E. Scott, Laura A. Scott, and Milly D. Scott. The first recorded burial was that of John Andrew Jackson (1822-1855), a pioneer settler of Waverly. Three gravestones dated 1852 indicate reinternments rather…
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Born in Tennessee on July 13, 1814, John Frelan Winters moved to the Mexican province of Texas in 1832. After enlisting in the Army of the Republic of Texas, John and his brother William fought in the Battle of San Jacinto, where William was badly wounded. As a reward for his service, John…
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English native George Robinson (1820-1888), formerly of the Galveston News, moved to Huntsville by 1846 and began printing the Huntsville Item on August 20, 1850. He was able to employ an apprentice printer that year. In 1859, Robinson and Dr. H. Morton, a dentist, built a two-story building. Dr.…
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The first Walker County Courthouse was available for county commissioners court meetings in July 1848; the building was finally completed in the center of the Huntsville public square in 1850. Because of a defective foundation, a second courthouse had replaced it by 1853. Repairs made in 1856 did…
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Baptists organized here in 1901 and held services at the Guinea Glade School (about 2 mi. NW). Brother Elisha E. Day (1848-1936), pastor of the Woodville Church (about 10 mi. SW), helped establish the congregation and conducted its first services. Charter members included Mr. and Mrs. Jim Cauthen,…
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Constructed between 1859 and 1862 by James H. Thomason, this is one of the oldest homes in Walker County. Byrd Eastham acquired the house in 1869, and his descendants, one of whom married into the Thomason Family, have retained ownership. The Georgian plan home exhibits simple classical revival…
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This congregation was organized in 1854 by The Rev. J. W. D. Creath, pastor of the Huntsville Baptist Church, and The Rev. Richard Pace, the pioneer Baptist leader and preacher who served as the first minister at this church. Early worship services were conducted in the homes of members. The first…
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Celebrations of "Juneteenth"--the anniversary of the June 19, 1865 emancipation of Texas slaves--were first held in homes and churches. Later, festivities took place outdoors. By 1915, Huntsville blacks, led by former slave Jane Ward (d. 1933), had moved the annual observance to this…
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A soldier who participated in Texans' victory at San Jacinto. Born in Virginia, brought up in Tennessee, Faris came to Texas to fight for colony's freedom, 1835. Locating bounty land for army service and his headright in this vicinity, he became a local leader and named Faris Chapel for…
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This Greek revival home, commissioned by Thomas Gibbs and constructed by W. M. Barrett in 1862, is now the home of the Walker County Historical Association. The home has housed generations of Gibbs and Powell families as well as female students attending Sam Houston Normal Institute. The bedroom…
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Kentucky native Pleasant Gray and his wife Hannah (Holshouser) left Tennessee with their two children in 1834 and in 1835 settled here on land granted to them as part of Mexico's colonization effort. At that time natural springs located nearby served as a campsite for the area's native…
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This cemetery existed as early as 1846. For three graves were placed here that year. Pleasant Gray, Huntsville's founder, deeded in 1847 a 1,600-square foot plot at this site. The original tract has been greatly enlarged by other donations from local citizens. Numerous graves bear the death…
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Considered to be one of the oldest homes in Huntsville, the Pritchett home was built by Joseph and Lenora Pritchett. A mathmatics professor at Sam Houston Normal Institute and father of six, Joesph Pritchett expanded the home as his family grew. The porch features Queen Anne spindlework in the…
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On this site once stood the first church building erected In Huntsville.  In 1849, Cumberland Presbyterian Church trustees A. C. King and T. J. Caldwell purchased this land on behalf of the congregation, and the building was constructed soon thereafter.  The sanctuary also served as a house of…
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The Sandel and Powell families moved to this area from Mississippi in the 1850s, helping establish a community church and school in this vicinity. The Rev. Peter W. Sandel (1806-1866) arrived and bought property in October 1851. Twice married, he lived here with his second wife, Louisa J.…
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Benjamin Ingram Harper (b. 1809) came to Texas from Virginia, and in 1833, he worked as a schoolmaster in Liberty County. He wed Evelina Vocum in 1834 and had a son. The next year, under Andrew Briscoe, he fought at the battle of Concepción and the Siege of Bexar. In 1836, commissioned as a second…
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Successful businesswoman Sallie E. Gibbs was born Sarah Elizabeth Smith in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on October 18, 1844 to Mary Washington (Ledbetter) and Thomas Jefferson Smith. Her parents operated a large plantation, and she received tutoring from age four until she went to the Greensboro…
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German immigrant Baldwin Boettcher established a sawmill at Westfield, north of Houston, in 1898, along the International and Great Northern rail line. Boettcher and his mill workers produced 15,000 board feet of yellow pine, gum and cypress lumber daily. Using vertical integration, Boettcher owned…
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In 1872, W.L. Holloway donated a tract of land to the Bath community. A small building on the land served as school and sanctuary for area residents, who established Union Hill Crhuch that same year. The congregation's first trustees were Martin Palmer, Jr., Jackson Wells, Jr. and Frank…
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Along with Ebenezer Baptist Church, this cemetery organized in 1854 on land donated by Jonathan A. and Sarah McGary. The earliest marked grave is that of Annie Bussey Pace, who migrated here from Alabama with family, including her husband, the Rev. Richard pace (d. 1858), who was the first pastor…
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Gustavus Adair Wynne and Samuella Gibbs, who became civic and business leaders in Huntsville, married in 1883 and moved into this house, which they first built in the Queen Anne style. By 1917, they transformed the house into a classical revival structure featuring doric columns and a two-story…
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James Addison Baker was born to Jane Saxton and Elijah Adam Baker on March 3, 1821 near Huntsville, Alabama.  He was admitted to the Bar in 1843 and wed Caroline Hightower in 1849.  She died in 1852, and he moved that year to join her family members in Huntsville, Texas, where he established a law…
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Bath Cemetery, near Union Hill Church, was established in the 1870s. The earliest recorded burila is that of William Arnold in 1877. The burial ground has served the Bath Community, locally called Possum Walk, since that time, and area residents and descendants of settlers continue to maintain the…
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Oilman and Huntsville native Robert A. Josey donated funding for the construction of this log structure in 1933. Additional funding was obtained from the federal government's Civil Works Administration (CWA), and Gibbs Brothers and Company donated the logs and rock for the lodge; the building…
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Noted for being Huntsville's oldest African American neighborhood, Rogersville is roughly situated between 7th and 10th Streets and Old Madisonville Road and Avenue N. Micajah C. Rogers, Huntsville's first mayor, originally owned most of the land and began selling it after the Civil War.…
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In 1867, Huntsville Methodists and Baptists shared the Union Church. Two years later, the Baptists built a separate church in the Rogersville neighborhood called First Missionary Baptist Church, which was organized by Reverend J.J. Rhinehardt with the assistance of “Mother” Sarah Rolling. On…
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Buck Foster Cemetery, also known as Foster or Loma Cemetery, is located about twelve miles west of Huntsville in the eastern part of the Loma Community. The cemetery was officially created when William Harrison "Buck" Foster (1835-1908) sold 100 acres of land in 1882 to W.L. Sandel…
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Following emancipation, many African Americans sought a place to gather and worship, and they formed churches. The Western Grove Baptist church was founded in 1885 and is the oldest African American church in New Waverly. The church began as Eastern Grove Baptist Church before it moved to the west…
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The Huntsville Branch Railway was a "tap" rail line which was chartered as the Huntsville Branch Railway Company in 1871. Support of a railroad through Huntsville was split in the community for a number of reasons. Concerns about loss of business and fear that it would bring…
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The town had originally been in Walker County. When San Jacinto County was formed in 1870, the community was split east and west by the new county line. James W. Winters, former Alabaman, settled in the area just a year before Texas Independence in 1835. Other families moved into the area and by…
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There are multiple theories as to how the yellow fever made its way into Huntsville during the summer of 1867. One of the town's inhabitants, a man named George Robinson who founded the Huntsville Item, speculated that the fever accompanied a stranger by the name of Mynatt into town. A few days…
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Situated along the west side of the Trinity River in northern Walker County, Cincinnati was an important river port and ferry crossing during the nineteenth century. The settlement was founded by James C. Dewitt, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, and was part of a land grant of 1,280 acres…
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On September 5, 1867, shortly after Huntsville declared the recent string of yellow fever attacks an epidemic, “a general panic ensued.” By the end of the month, families hid in their homes or had fled to the country, schools had dissolved, businesses had closed, plantations had gone under…
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The average age of a building in the United States of America is 49.83 years old. In a world where there are man-made structures that predate Jesus Christ, the United States significantly lacks in the generational inheritance of historical buildings. That is why the buildings that we do possess…
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The distinctive face and top hat known as Mr. Hamburger has greeted Huntsville residents and burger lovers alike since 1959. Opened as a classic American drive-in and moving to a dine-in location in 2011, fans still recognize the food and location that make him unique. Situated across from the…
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Sam Houston State University was founded in 1897 and is the third oldest public college or university in Texas. The university has gone through many changes over the last 140 years academically, physically, administratively and in other ways. The amount of programs the university offers has…
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The history of Sam Houston State University is very long and rich with unique students, faculty, and different kinds of stories. It was founded in 1897 and was called Sam Houston Normal Institute. The environment that students are in every day has changed a tremendous amount since then. The campus…
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Born in 1925, Willie Jerry Jones Sr. owned and managed the Willie Jerry Jones Insurance and Bonding Agency for over four decades. His businesses provided life insurance and bail bonding services to many in the Black Huntsville community. Growing up in Huntsville, TX, he attended the local high…
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While it's said that behind every great man is a great woman, with the Malone's, they both stood together, equally at the forefront of Black Huntsville/East Texas history. As with all the "great men" of Huntsville, their wives helped and worked with them in their achievements and endeavors.…
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Gibbs Ranch is a large well-known ranch in the Walker County area that was owned by Mr. W.S. Gibbs prior to being given to Sam Houston State University. After Mr. Gibbs passed away the land was leased out until 1993 when Mrs. Ruth Farrington, Mr. Gibbs’ wife, decided to deed the “home place” of…
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This piece is about the movement of civil rights for Hispanics and Latinos in East Texas. The League of Latin American Citizens is the primary organization focused on in East Texas and at Sam Houston State University
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One bite of our slow-smoked meats and you'll know the McKenzie Brothers are serious about preparing and serving the best barbeque to be found in the Lone Star State. Our story of great Texas barbeque starts in 1984 when brothers Kevin and Darin McKenzie got jobs at a small town, family-owned…
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The faculty of Sam Walker Houston High prepared their students for successful and meaningful lives despite having to operate under the deprivations of the system of Jim Crow Segregation. How did the faculty accomplish this with few resources and little money?
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April 13, 1805 - September 29, 1867 Doctor Pleasant Williams Kittrell, a statesman in North Carolina and Alabama, moved with his family to Texas in 1850. While serving two terms in the Texas Legislature, the doctor authored the bill to establish the University of Texas. Though the bill was signed…
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The cemetery itself is constructed from a decorative wrought-iron fence. These were commonplace at the time for family cemeteries, especially among the wealthier ones. Originally, the decorative gate and posts were cast up in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, also known as “The Iron City.” The materials…
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Walker County became a desirable location for Anglo settlers in the mid-nineteenth century, spurred by steamboat navigation of the Trinity River which could transport goods to the Port of Galveston. [1] Significant population growth took place between 1850 and 1860, reflective of the growing…
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In rural Walker County, Texas, a quiet cemetery rests on a hill ringed by an ornamental fence. It is near the Old Calhoun Ferry Crossing on the Trinity River, North of Lost Indian Camp Road. It is a small family cemetery belonging to the War of 1812 veteran and plantation owner Samuel Calhoun…
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Nothing has been more important to the advancement of civilizations than the environment and the land supporting those societies. To understand how land shapes societies and the role humans play in changing the land around them, “Doing so requires a history, not only of human actors, conflicts, and…
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The Disappearance of the Bidai Tribe For centuries, the Bidai tribe inhabited the piney woods and river bottoms of East Texas. Unlike larger tribes that frequently appear in history books, the Bidai are rarely mentioned, making their story especially interesting. Their disappearance was not…
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Generations before the founding of Huntsville and the establishment of Walker County, the land along the Bedias Creek was home to Native communities whose histories shaped the region in lasting ways. Among these Native communities were the Bidai, a small but significant tribe that depended on the…
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Huntsville's First United Methodist Church, located at 1016 Sam Houston Avenue, has served as a key institution in Walker County for over 150 years. Throughout its long history, First United Methodist has provided its parishioners with spiritual sustenance and community support. The church has…
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During the summer months of 2001, representatives from Huntsville’s Main Street Program worked with faculty members and students from Sam Houston State University to move the historic Roberts-Farris cabin from its location in West Sandy to a prominent site on Huntsville’s downtown square. It is…
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In 1843, a local merchant and postmaster, Alexander McDonald, constructed Huntsville’s first brick building, which had a "simple rectangle[r] shape with three dormer windows at the attic level." Located at what is now the southeast corner of University Avenue and 12th Street, the first…
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Born in 1822, Joshua Houston was raised as a slave on the Lea plantation near Marion, Alabama. When his master, Temple Lea, died in 1834, ownership of Joshua was transferred to Temple's daughter, Margaret Lea. There seems to have been little change in Joshua's situation, however, until…
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Folklorist John Avery Lomax toured prisons in the South to record the voices and music of those who were incarcerated there, particularly African American inmates or as his records indicate, "Negro convicts." Lomax and his son Alan, a student at the University of Texas who assisted him,…
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Following the Civil War, African Americans in Huntsville established their own "Union Church" for worship services and community events. Local black leaders Joshua Houston Sr., William Baines, and Strother Green purchased a desirable downtown site for the church in April 1867 from…
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As part of their Southern States Recording Trip in 1939, John A. Lomax and his wife Ruby Terrill Lomax attempted to expand their catalog of folk music by incorporating a wider variety of genres, and the contributions of Huntsville resident Grace Crawford Longino reflect that effort. The Lomaxes…
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During the twentieth century, Minnie Fisher Cunningham (1882-1964) worked as a leading reformer on women’s issues, including voting rights and equal pay. Born near New Waverly, Texas in southern Walker County, Minnie was raised by her parents, Horatio and Sallie (Abercrombie) Fisher, to be an…
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Huntsville’s Andrew Female College was founded in 1852 and chartered by the Texas Conference of Methodist Churches on February 7, 1853. Its creation mirrored that of Austin College, a men’s institution in Huntsville that had admitted its first class in the fall of 1850. The women’s college was…
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On September 16, 1844, the First Baptist Church of Huntsville, Texas was organized in the Brick Academy building by Rev. Z.N. Morrell, Thomas Horsely, and Rev. Benjamin Fry. In 1851, the church's early congregation met at the Dean School House, while the first church building was constructed…
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In 1866, a group of East Texas plantation owners working with the Polish merchant, Meyer Levy, formed the Waverly Emigration Society. This enterprising new group hoped to bring European farmers to the Waverly area in order to replace the recently-freed African-American population that had once…
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To collect authentic, undocumented folk music, John A. Lomax and his son Alan specifically sought out "made up" songs, ones that had been created and developed by everyday people. In 1934, while searching for the local and secular music of African Americans, the Lomaxes stopped at the…
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In his pursuit of folk music, John A. Lomax visited penitentiaries throughout the South specifically to document the music of African Americans that, because of racial segregation and the isolation of prison life, remained pure or relativity free of the influence of whites or popular music. In…
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Gibbs Brothers and Company is reputedly the oldest continuously operating family business in Texas that still resides on its original site. The business was established by Thomas Gibbs and Gardner Coffin in 1841 on the Huntsville town square. The pair purchased the lot on which they built their…
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Shortly after the town of Huntsville was incorporated, founder Pleasant Gray donated five acres of land for the creation of a school. The new institution began operations as early as 1845 and received a charter on April 11, 1846. Originally, the school offered education to both boys and girls and…
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Best known as the author of the first "History of Texas," Henderson Yoakum was an accomplished soldier, attorney, and politician. Born in 1810 in Claiborne County, Tennessee, Yoakum graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He resigned his commission as lieutenant in 1833 to…
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